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The Management Board of the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) convened in Antwerp on 20 and 21 March, addressing a wide range of operational and strategic topics relevant to the Agency's mandate.
During the meeting, the Board reviewed the status of legislative proposals affecting eu-LISA's operations and was briefed on various Agency activities, including the evaluation of eu-LISA and the outcomes of a study by Deloitte on the operational management of the Agency. The meeting also covered feedback from the recent Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council, which took place on 4-5 March.
A significant part of the discussion focused on the recommendations of the Programme Management Boards (PMB) for the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). The Chairpersons of the Agency's Advisory Groups and the PMBs provided updates on key issues, including the latest developments in ECRIS-TCN, Eurodac, the Schengen Information System (SIS), the Visa Information System (VIS) and others, and underlined the importance of the interoperability of these programmes.
The Board was also informed of the Agency's 2023 Corporate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), its contributions to research, the status of ongoing building projects and details of budget execution up to the end of 2023 as well as projections for 2024. Staffing levels and strategic initiatives were also reviewed, underlining the Agency's operational capacity and forward momentum.
In key appointments, Rene Vihalem (Estonia) was elected as the next Chairperson of the Management Board, with his term starting on June 21, 2024, and Hanna De Backer (Belgium) was elected Deputy Chairperson, effective from March 22, 2024.
The Board took note of the Annual Report of the Head of the Internal Audit Capability (IAC) for 2023, commended the high implementation rate of audit recommendations at 87% and looks forward to the closure of outstanding recommendations. Updates were also provided on the configuration management audit report, the European Court of Auditor's preliminary findings for the 2023 accounts and the discharge process for the 2022 accounts.
DPO and Security matters were also addressed by the Management Board, including the adoption of the VIS Business Continuity Plan and the VIS Security Plan, as well as a review of the VIS Exercise 2023 report, reaffirming the Agency's commitment to maintaining robust and resilient operational capabilities.
